WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump's supporters called Sunday for an urgent boost in Secret Service security following the arrest Sunday of a suspect in a new assassination attempt on the Republican candidate.
The would-be assassin was identified as Hawaii resident Ryan Routh, 58, and was taken into custody after Secret Service agents found the barrel of an AK-47-style rifle hidden behind a chain-link fence outside the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach South.
The 78-year-old former president was on the course at the time, and authorities have not yet confirmed whether the gunman fired at Trump.
“It is incomprehensible that this happened again. President Trump deserves the same, if not more, Secret Service protection as a sitting president,” said Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.). Tweeted Immediately after the attack.
“President Trump should have the same protections as Joe Biden! Period!” Written Leo Terrell, a prominent conservative commentator.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Rick Bradshaw suggested security would be lax because Trump is not the sitting commander in chief.
“In his current position, he's not a sitting president. If he were, they would have this entire golf course secured around him. But he's not, so security is limited to areas the Secret Service deems feasible,” Bradshaw said.
“I think the next time he's on the golf course there will probably be a few more people around, but the Secret Service did exactly what they were supposed to do.”
A gun scope and a GoPro camera were found in the bushes, suggesting the gunman may have intended to shoot Trump from a distance and film his actions.
President Trump was targeted by attempted assassin Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13. Crooks climbed onto an unsecured roof just 100 yards from President Trump's podium at the rally, shooting a bullet that grazed the former president's ear and killed another person at the rally.
